As wind boom continues, CREZ capacity in question

A little more than a year ago a $7 billion expansion of Texas’ power grid was completed to accommodate the flurry of new wind farms under construction.

But as wind power continues to boom across the plains of West Texas and the Panhandle, the system — named CREZ, or Competitive Renewable Energy Zones — could soon be nearing capacity again.

The state’s grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, is studying the transmission system in the Texas Panhandle, where at least 2,200 megawatts’ worth of new wind farms — enough to power more than 400,000 homes — are expected to begin operation before 2017.